When he returned to New York, Li Mu took with him an order for military purchases totaling $2.7 million. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

The order includes small arms such as pistols, rifles, and light machine guns, as well as heavy weapons such as heavy machine guns and mortars.

Since the Horse Arms Company has not yet developed a heavy artillery, this order does not include artillery, but the Minister of War Bernap promised Li Mu that once the Horse Weapons Company has developed a heavy artillery, the War Department will place additional orders.

According to the 10% principle, Li Mu should pay Bernap at least $270,000 for this order from the Horse Arms Company and the Ministry of War, but this figure is obviously too large for Bernapp to ask, so Li Mu gave Bernap a check for $50,000, and invited Bernap to serve as a consultant to the Horse Arms Company after retirement.

This "consultant" means the same as Grant's "honorary director", a fictitious title without any rights, but the horse arms company will pay Bernap for it, which is also tantamount to a bribe in disguise.

In these years, the bribery of Americans is still in its infancy, when Gould bribed Grant's wife Julia, he gave a pocket of dollars, this kind of bribery is too untechnical, Li Mu disdains it, "consultant" This way is good, no one can find fault, and it can also achieve the same goal, and at the same time, it can also effectively use the connections left by Bernap after retirement, which is really beneficial.

Bernap was very satisfied with Li Mu's arrangement, so Li Mu got an order of $2.7 million, and according to the budget of the War Department, this order would not have exceeded $2 million.

This is a typical example of someone in the court who is easy to do.

In addition to the order, Li Mu also harvested Governors Island in New York Bay, Governors Island is the property of the U.S. Department of War, but when Li Mu mentioned this matter to Bernapp, Bernapp had no impression at all, so Li Mu only paid $85 to get the permanent ownership of Governors Island.

Yes, it's 85 dollars, and it doesn't miss a "10,000".

One hectare is about 2.5 acres, and Governors Island covers an area of about 33 acres, which is actually less than $85 based on the calculation of one dollar per acre, but Li Mu didn't care, so he simply took a whole number, and took advantage of the loss.

This is also a faulty transaction, Li Mu's reason for buying Governors Island is to set up a landfill to deal with the construction waste generated by the construction of Battery Park and the renovation of Central Park, since it is a landfill, the price will definitely not be high, as for what Li Mu will do on Governors Island in the future, this has nothing to do with Bernap, no one can care, after all, after the contract is signed, Governors Island is already Li Mu's private territory.

On the day of his return to New York, there was good news from Boston, that Antonio Meucci had finally perfected his telephone design and met Li Mu's requirements to move on to actual production.

The importance of the telephone is also undoubted compared to the car, and Li Mu took a special train to Boston that night to write a check to Antonio Meucci.

William Vanderbilt, who originally wanted to invest in automobiles, went with Li Mu.

"Telephone—what's that?" After hearing the purpose of Li Mu's trip, William Vanderbilt was confused.

"You know the telegraph, the telephone is the same as the telegraph, except that the wire of the telegraph transmits words, and the wire of the telephone transmits sound." Li Mu is a good teacher, and now he will start advertising for the phone.

"Voice! How can it be! William looked shocked.

"Why can't it be? Wouldn't you be even more shocked if even the air could transmit sound one day? Li Mu dropped another bombshell.

"Air? This is simply ridiculous. William was not shocked this time, but turned on a mocking face.

"Hehe, I'm talking to you right now, if the air can't transmit sound, then what do you hear?" Li Mu played a sneak change concept.

"It's not the same thing at all, and it can't be mixed up." William couldn't laugh or cry.

"Well, you can believe it or not, but I'll make you believe it, just like you don't believe that wires can carry sound." Li Mu was full of confidence that even without Li Mu's "pulling seedlings to help grow", by 1888, the German scientist Hertz would have discovered the existence of radio waves.

William stopped mocking Li Mu this time, and looked at Li Mu with a complicated gaze.

Anyone who sees such a demon will feel complicated.

In fact, Li Mu is not an inventor now, Li Mu's current image in the field of science and technology is a wealthy financier, and those great inventors are different, Li Mu does a lot of things are only re-researched on the basis of the invention of his predecessors, such as smokeless gunpowder, which is an improvement on the basis of black powder, and such as electric lights, Li Mu first bought the patent of Henry Goebel who had no money to continue research, and then used the full financial resources in his hands to conduct research, and then there was Junma Electric Company, As for stainless steel and weapons steel, they are only Li Mu's investment results, so even if Li Mu has made great achievements now, he still cannot be recognized by people in the scientific and technological circles.

In the eyes of those scientists, Li Mu was more like a businessman or an arms dealer, they liked Li Mu, but did not recognize Li Mu's guiding role.

Li Mu also has no intention of changing the misconceptions of those scientists, after all, Li Mu does not have time to stay in the laboratory all day long to repeat those boring experiments, since the profits generated by those inventions have been attributed to Li Mu, then the honor will be left to others, Li Mu cannot dominate everything.

When he arrived in Boston, Li Mu invited William to participate in the test, and William happily accepted Li Mu's invitation.

The test site was at the Horse Laboratory on the banks of the Charles River, Li Mu went to the old laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and William stayed in the new laboratory area on the other side of the Charles River, and the two of them had to have a phone call to complete the test of the phone.

Standing on the window on the second floor of the laboratory, Li Mu waved his hand to the other side of the Charles River, and after getting William's response, he shook the crank on the phone vigorously, and then picked up the earpiece that had been connected together: "Operator, please connect the electrical laboratory." ”

Without Li Mu's intervention, the phone needs a long process to enter the practical stage, with Li Mu, the practical stage of the telephone has been greatly accelerated, magnet telephones, carbon precision microphones, and operators have appeared, it is precisely because of these requirements, so Antonio Meugchi has finally completed the improvement of the telephone until now.

"Okay, please wait a minute-" A slightly muffled and trembling voice came, and Li Mu could hear that it was Antonio Meuchi's voice.

"Congratulations, Antonio, you can actually confirm the success of the phone research now-you-" Li Mu sent his blessings.

"Yes, sir, we succeeded, thank you very much, Mr. Ream—" Antonio Meucci's voice whimpered, and even excited sobs could be heard.

Without Li Mu's intervention, Antonio Meuchi would have given up the epoch-making invention of the telephone this year because of lack of funds, and it was only a patent fee of ten US dollars, but Antonio Meucci couldn't get it, and finally could only watch someone who shared the same laboratory with Antonio Meucci apply for a patent for the telephone, and then shamelessly take the great invention of the telephone as his own.

Well, what is even more interesting is that a hundred years later, the U.S. Congress finally recognized Antonio Meucci as the inventor of the telephone, but this caused strong dissatisfaction in Canada, because the inventor of the telephone in the usual sense is Canadian, so the Canadian House of Representatives does not approve of the "reversal" of the U.S. Congress.

Antonio Meuqi didn't know how miserable his future would be without Li Mu's intervention, but this did not prevent Antonio Meuqi from being grateful to Li Mu, in fact, Antonio Meucci was miserable enough before meeting Li Mu, Antonio Meucci's wife was bedridden all the year round, and Antonio Meucci himself was still sick because of severe burns, and if there was no Li Mu, Antonio Meucci's family would not be able to maintain.

As the world's first operator, Antonio Meucci was qualified for his job, and soon William's voice came from the phone: "- Can you hear people talking here?" Is this it? Reem? ”

"William, I've seen you holding the phone, can't you put your glasses down? That's right, it's me—" Li Mu waved again to William on the other side of the Charles River.

"God-" There was a loud shout on the phone, and then Li Mu saw William throw away the microphone in his hand like an electric shock.

"Damn it, if you break it for me, you'll have to pay compensation, this is the world's first telephone, and you can't afford to buy it." Li Mu was distressed, if it really broke, Li Mu would definitely settle accounts with William.

Of course, it's just a joke that you can't afford to exchange anything for it if you sell it, and the Vanderbilt family may be richer than Li Mu now.

"I'm here - I can't imagine why this is happening?" William picked up the microphone again, stammering in questioning.

"That's the power of technology!" Li Mu put down the microphone and ended the first call in his life.

Soon, Li Mu took the ferry to the laboratory on the other side and once again expressed his blessings to Antonio Meucci.

"It's a joint effort from all of us, and without all of you, the phone would never be so perfect." Antonio Meucci is modest.

"Well, this is your deserved honor, and of course you will get my check, let me do the math - nineteen days, then nineteen dollars, Mr. Antonio Meucci, congratulations again." Li Mu was generous and wrote a check on the spot.

"Hooray!" The atmosphere in the laboratory was ignited.